What size AC for Longview, TX? 4 tons for 2,000 sq ft

What size AC a 2,000 sq ft house in Longview needs

4 tons central AC or heat pump, about 44,900 BTU/hr of load

Here the 20 BTU per square foot chart lands close: 3.5 tons against a load of 3.7 tons. This is one of the climates the chart was written for.

If a contractor quotes you more than 4 tons for an average 2,000 sq ft house here, ask to see the Manual J load calculation behind it before you sign. That works out to one ton per 534 square feet in this climate. For a single room, size by the room: 22.5 BTU/hr per square foot.

The climate it is sized for

Climate from NOAA's 1991 to 2020 normals at Longview E Tx Regional Airport (9.4 mi away). Aug is the hottest month, averaging a high of 94.7°F and a low of 72.8°F, with about 100 days a year at 90°F or more. That gives a design temperature of 102°F against 75°F inside.

What it costs to run

About 4,104 kWh a year at SEER2 14.3, or roughly $658 at Texas's average residential rate of 16.03¢ per kWh. Cooling runs 7 months of the year here.

What drives the load in Longview

Of the 44,900 BTU/hr, 19,440 comes through walls, roof and windows on a 102°F afternoon (43%), 13,000 is sun on the house (29%), 2,120 is four people and their appliances, and 10,400 is moisture the coil has to wring out of Longview's summer air (23%).

Heat through the shell is the biggest share here, so insulation and air sealing cut the size you need more than shading would. Sensible heat totals 34,560 BTU/hr before the moisture allowance.

Other house sizes in Longview

Single rooms with a window or mini-split unit: a 150 sq ft bedroom needs about 3,400 BTU/hr; a 350 sq ft living room needs about 7,900 BTU/hr; a 600 sq ft open plan kitchen and family room needs about 13,500 BTU/hr.

Month by month in Longview

Jul alone uses 22% of the year's cooling energy. The unit runs the equivalent of 1,306 hours a year at full output.

Longview against nearby cities

Of 252 Texas cities here, Longview has the 166th highest cooling load. The range runs from Levelland at 37,300 BTU/hr to Laredo at 51,500.

Where Longview's weather numbers come from

The nearest NOAA station with full 1991 to 2020 normals is Longview E Tx Regional Airport, 9.4 miles from the center of Longview at 352 ft above sea level. That is close enough that the station's summers are Longview's summers.

1 other city uses the same station and get the same climate inputs. The closest to Longview: Kilgore (10 mi away, 8.5 mi from the station). Longview is farther from the station than 1 of them.

The sun over Longview in late July

At 32.52°N, the noon sun on 21 July stands 77.9° above the horizon over Longview and the day runs 13 h 50 min from sunrise to sunset. A lower noon sun puts more of the day's heat on east and west walls than on the roof, which is why shading west glass pays off here. Shorter days give the house a longer night to shed the day's heat.

83,668 people live in Longview, the 50th largest of the 252 Texas cities sized on this site. Coordinates used: 32.5202, -94.7611.

Longview AC sizing questions